Miller: Pennants aren't won - or lost - in December

The winter meetings have ended, the Angels' big move being the addition of a pitcher whose most memorable start for the Dodgers last season featured him, in order:

•Allowing approximately 1,200 feet of home runs.

•Being removed in the middle of the fifth inning.

•Being ejected before he could reach the dugout.

But enough about Joe Blanton for now. We have an entire summer to make fun of a pitcher who should fit in nicely around here, seeing how he once gave up nine earned runs in a loss at Fenway Park.

Our objective today isn't to bash the Angels and their offseason to date, even if their moves so far have been as memorable as a pitchout in spring training.

Seriously, the reaction to A.J. Burnett would have been cautious enough, but Sean Burnett? That announcement must have lit up the club's season-ticket switchboard like a Christmas tree, an Amish one.

No, our objective, believe it or not, is to support the Angels and their generally uninspired retooling, to calm the team's fans and remind everyone that this franchise won the 2011 winter meetings and absolutely nothing of consequence there after.

Folks, baseball is still played on a diamond, by human beings. The results have nothing to do with computers, tendencies or projections. No matter how committed some people are to making the game as fun as doing algebra, baseball is not a math problem. There isn't just one correct answer.

You can help your chances in December and January, certainly, but you can't win a game until opening day. And then after that, the pursuit becomes about collective performance, timing and chemistry, in the lineup and the clubhouse.

Good luck trying to quantify any of that.

It was exactly one year ago that the Angels staged a pep rally in front of their ballpark to introduce Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. That day, Torii Hunter called the additions "something I've dreamed about." Pujols said he felt called to Anaheim by God himself, never mind Arte Moreno and his 10-year, $254 million contract offer.

Everyone thought General Manager Jerry Dipoto had put together a World Series contender. Turns out, he had built only the most overpaid, underachieving team in franchise history.

The 2012 Angels could have finished third in the American League West with a $59 million payroll. The fact they did it with a $159 million payroll underscores the significance of what happens in-season compared to out-season.

Sure, we're like everyone else. We still think the Angels should re-sign Zack Greinke. Moreno overextended his financial commitment comically for Pujols. Why wouldn't he do it now for this guy? Come on, Arte. It's not our money. What do we care?

The reality, though, is that even if the Angels brought back Greinke, they're guaranteed nothing but a day of headlines and sports-talk buzz. This business can be that fleeting.

Can you name the free-agent pitcher who switched teams last winter and had the most victories in 2012? If you're anything like us, you can't.

No, we had to do the research. Here's a hint: It wasn't Wilson.

It was Hiroki Kuroda, who remained unsigned almost until the end of January, was offered just a one-year contract and joined the Yankees only after dropping his asking price $5 million.

So grabbing the biggest name is great and all, but there's no promise the biggest results will follow.

Last December, the San Francisco Giants readied themselves for their 2012 World Series title by trading for outfielder Angel Pagan and signing nobody else's free agents. None. Zero.

While the Angels were making winter meeting waves, the Giants weren't even causing ripples in anyone's rum and Coke.

San Francisco's two other big offseason moves a year ago? Trading for Melky Cabrera, who famously cheated and was banned by baseball and banished by the Giants, and signing Ryan Theriot, who never mentioned anything about being directed to his new team by a higher source.

Then the season began, the Giants slowly started to win and meld into something special, management tweaked the roster and the winning continued until San Francisco ran out of teams to beat.

So now we have the Angels and Dipoto preaching common sense and stability, while their fans contemplate an offseason as thrilling as watching Maicer Izturis attempt to pinch-hit.

Blanton, by himself, will sell precisely zero tickets. Same with Burnett, Tommy Hanson and Ryan Madson.

But remember, Pujols was supposed to sell bunches of tickets and that proved to be nonsense.

Winning in December and January is a must ... if you're in the NFL. In baseball, winning in September and October is all that matters. And this Angels' roster, as is, can — no, should — win.

So save the real angst for the season, Angels boosters, because if this team fails again in 2013, the fan unrest will serve a purpose.